Parking meters to go up near AT&T Park

S.F. PARKING

Updated 1:26 pm, Tuesday, July 17, 2012

The city will begin planting hundreds of new parking meters in the area adjacent to the ballpar.

The city will begin planting hundreds of new parking meters in the area adjacent to the ballpar.

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

Image 2 of 4

This parking area on 3rd Street near King would be very attractive to Giants fans. Parking meters near AT&T park may increase their hours and their hourly rates on special event days if the City of San Francisco gets its way.

This parking area on 3rd Street near King would be very attractive to Giants fans. Parking meters near AT&T park may increase their hours and their hourly rates on special event days if the City of San

These "pay by number" spaces on Terry Francois Street already have special event parking and rates posted. Parking meters near AT&T park may increase their hours and their hourly rates on special event days if the City of San Francisco gets its way.

These "pay by number" spaces on Terry Francois Street already have special event parking and rates posted. Parking meters near AT&T park may increase their hours and their hourly rates on special event days

The chance of snagging a free curbside parking space within a short walk of AT&T Park will be about as likely as Giants pitcher Matt Cain tossing another perfect game this season. Or ever.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency will begin planting hundreds of new parking meters in the Mission Bay development adjacent to the ballpark this summer, and by next spring extend the meter operating hours on all streets in proximity to the stadium to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Sunday meters are scheduled to begin Jan. 1 citywide.

The cost to park at the meters during ballgames and other special events will jump to $5 or $7 an hour, depending on how close they are to the ballpark.

The city's elected leaders have for years pushed back when the Municipal Transit Agency has proposed expanding meter hours later into the night.

But now the agency is moving forward with nighttime meters around the ballpark, relying on a vote by the agency's governing board four years ago that allows longer operating hours in specific areas on an experimental basis, agency spokesman Paul Rose said Monday.

"The goal of this policy is to reduce the extreme congestion associated with special events," said Ed Reiskin, San Francisco's director of transportation.

The new policy, known as the Mission Bay Parking Management Strategy, affects areas generally bounded by Bryant, King, Fifth and Second streets, and King, Seventh, Mariposa and Illinois streets.

The changes come under the rubric of the transportation agency's experimental SFpark program, which hopes to manage parking availability and traffic congestion by varying parking meter rates. High demand means higher rates that, if the model works as anticipated, will deter people from driving into the area.

Price precedent

The Port of San Francisco, which operates meters along the Embarcadero, already charges $5 an hour for meters near AT&T Park during Giants games, and also runs them until 11 p.m. Expanding the concept to hundreds more meters around the ballpark - and charging a much as $7 an hour - will be a first for the Municipal Transportation Agency, which operates nearly 29,000 meters in the city.

Agency officials are quick to point out that the cost to park in lots within a block or two of the stadium on game day can run as high as $40. They also argue the higher rates will also bring more convenience, with the time limit extended to four hours or, in some cases, with no time limit as long as the meter is fed.

However, the new parking policy around the ballpark extends beyond game days and will be in effect year round.

The changes have drawn mixed responses from residents in the area. Some asked the transportation agency to provide special price breaks for neighbors when the special event rates are in place. But Reiskin said that would not be feasible.

At times when there aren't ballgames and special events, the hourly meter rates initially will be $1.25 an hour on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and drop to 25 cents after 6 p.m. Weekend rates will start at 25 cents an hour. They can be increased incrementally by no more than 25 cents an hour, or lowered by no more than 50 cents an hour, based on demand. The adjustments are made no more than once a month.

Welcoming neighbor

"The issue with us during the games is that you can't go anywhere in your car. It's essentially gridlock," said Woods, who is one of the few residents in the area with a special permit to park near her home.

She noted that the Mission Bay development, home to a UCSF campus, biotech businesses and new housing developments, is being built as a transit-first community, where private automobile use is discouraged. "We always knew there were going to be meters here," Woods said.

Bad for commuters

For Dean Griffiths and his wife, the new meters will be a costly adjustment.

The couple live in Mission Bay and use their cars to commute, he to the North Bay, after dropping their son off at school, and she to the South Bay. Transit isn't a feasible option for either of them. They are assigned one parking space in their condo building and park their other car on the street. They chose Mission Bay because it was central to both their workplaces and close to the freeways.

He applauds the planned use of special event pricing to ease demand, but thinks that neighbors should get a break. Paying $5 or more an hour for street parking every time the Giants are playing at home is "simply not a viable economic prospect," Griffiths said.

"I will be forced to drive around the various neighboring streets, circling, looking for alternative parking. This is a practice that SFMTA is striving to reduce," he said.

With that in mind, the agency is looking to install more meters in adjacent neighborhoods.

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.